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Monday, September 18, 2006

Got Sizzle?

Pattern:Sizzle by Wendy BernardYarn: Knit Picks Main Line (75% pima cotton, 25% merino) in color Wedgewood; used approximately 6 skeins exclusive of swatchingNeedles: US 7 Addi Turbo circsStarted/Finished: August 30/September 14Mods: I made the v-neck a bit more modest (starting the division at 13" instead of 12"). It ended up being high enough that I wasn't worried about being too revealing, but I wore this camisole underneath to work today on account of my icebox office. I also only made the seed stitch borders around the neck and arms 1/2" instead of the inch the pattern called for.

My gauge was a tad bit off with this yarn, so I followed the directions for the small and wound up with (more or less) a medium. The yarn itself is very sproingy (is that a word? if not it should be!) and comfortable, but has a tendency to stretch out and just kind of hang, as you can see a little bit of in the shots below. It also took a really long time to dry -- I blocked it Thursday night and it wasn't fully dry until yesterday! Unfortunately it looks like hand washing is the only way to go on this one: my test swatch (which was machine washed and dried last night) maintained its width but shrunk a whole inch in length.

Here are some other views, courtesy of my favorite photographer.

From the side (successful seaming job!) ...

from the back, where you can see it hanging after being stretched out all day ...

and finally the money shot, J's favorite (are you at all surprised?)

From this view you can see the spot on the front -- in a most inconvenient location -- where the yarn got all funny and furry and thicker. Ick. I was hoping it wouldn't be too obvious, but this shot certainly doesn't help things.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this pattern. The directions were very clear and easy to follow and, most importantly, resulted in a garment that fit! My only slight complaint is that the very end of the pattern (i.e., the directions for putting on the seed stitch borders) did not fully explain how to put together the edges for the neck. The pattern instructs you to knit the neck border side to side, but doesn't say what to do with the ends! I solved this by examining the photo and improvising, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. I wore this to work today, and not one person asked me if I'd knitted it! That, if you ask me, is the hallmark of a truly successful project. I plan on knitting this again, this time in Knit Picks Shine Worsted in a shocking shade called Watermelon, which is hopefully on its way to me in the next day or two (seems to be stuck in Leetsdale, Pa. again). The next one will be a little longer and will have the called-for (i.e., not modest) neckline.

Finally tonight I leave you with a little eye candy. I think I mentioned the other day that this weekend I worked my last shifts at my second job. Yesterday, as I was getting my stuff together to leave, the two managers on duty surprised me with cupcakes and a dozen roses to thank me for my time there -- so, so sweet of them. Here's a shot of the gorgeous flowers, which I love so much I'm making a mental note of them for wedding flowers!